Min Aung Hlaing
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Min Aung Hlaing ( my, မင်းအောင်လှိုင်
abbreviated An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
: MAL ; born 3 July 1956) also known as Alaungsithu is a Burmese politician and
army general Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.  In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...
who has ruled
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
as the chairman of the
State Administration Council The State Administration Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်ရေးကောင်စီ; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Comm ...
since seizing power in the February 2021 coup d'état. He took the nominally civilian role of
prime minister of Myanmar The prime minister of Myanmar is the head of government of Myanmar. The post was re-established in 2021 by the State Administration Council, the country's ruling military junta, to lead its nominally-civilian provisional government. The provis ...
in August 2021 upon the formation of the
Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...
. He has also been the
commander-in-chief of Defence Services The commander-in-chief of Defence Services () is the commanding officer of the Tatmadaw, the armed forces of Myanmar. Since a state of emergency was declared following the 2021 military coup d'état, the commander-in-chief has been the highest ...
since March 2011."Who is Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing? 5 things to know,"
6 February 2021, ''
Nikkei Asia ''Nikkei Asia'', known as ''Nikkei Asian Review'' between 2013 and 2020, is a major Japan-based English-language weekly news magazine focussed on the Asian continent, although it also covers broader international developments. It is headquartered ...
,'' retrieved 28 December 2021
He previously served as Joint Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defence from 2010 to 2011 and was a member of the
National Defence and Security Council The National Defence and Security Council ( my, အမျိုးသား ကာကွယ်ရေးနှင့် လုံခြုံရေး ကောင်စီ, ; abbreviated NDSC) is an eleven-member national security council respons ...
(NDSC) chaired by the
president of Myanmar The president of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar () is the head of state and constitutional head of government of Myanmar. The president leads the Cabinet of Myanmar, the executive branch of the Burmese government. The current preside ...
. Born in
Minbu Minbu ( my, မင်းဘူးမြို့) is a city in Magwe Division, Myanmar. , the city has an urban population of 22,962. The area consists of low plain-land towards the Ayeyarwady River, and of undulating country inland rising highe ...
,
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, Min Aung Hlaing studied law at the
Rangoon Arts and Science University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...
before joining the military. Rising through its ranks, he became a five-star general by 2013. During the period of civilian rule from
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
to 2021, Min Aung Hlaing worked to ensure the military's continued role in politics and forestalled the
peace process A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...
with ethnic armed groups. Min Aung Hlaing was closely involved with the military's crackdown on the
Rohingyas The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
that led to the Rohingya crisis. Claiming voting irregularities and electoral fraud in the 2020 Myanmar general election, Min Aung Hlaing seized power in the 2021 coup. Having detained several lawmakers, including the President U
Win Myint Win Myint ( ; born 8 November 1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the tenth president of Myanmar from 2018 to 2021. He was removed from office in the 2021 Burmese coup d'état. He was the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Myan ...
and State Counsellor
Aung San Su Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...
, he established the interim
State Administration Council The State Administration Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်ရေးကောင်စီ; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Comm ...
(SAC) military junta. With the outbreak of the 2021 Myanmar protests, Min Aung Hlaing ordered a clampdown and suppression of demonstrations. With allegations of extensive human rights abuses and corruption, Min Aung Hlaing has been subjected to a series of international sanctions.


Early life and education

Min Aung Hlaing was born on 3 July 1956 in Minbu,
Magway Region Magway Region ( my, မကွေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; formerly Magway Division) is an administrative divisions of Myanmar, administrative division in central Myanmar. It is the second largest of Myanmar's seven divisions, ...
,
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
to Khin Hlaing and Hla Mu, as the fourth of five children. His parents were teachers from
Dawei Dawei (, ; mnw, ဓဝဲါ, ; th, ทวาย, RTGS: ''Thawai'', ; formerly known as Tavoy) is a city in south-eastern Myanmar and is the capital of the Tanintharyi Region, formerly known as the Tenasserim Division, on the northern bank of ...
, in
Tanintharyi Region Tanintharyi Region ( my, တနင်္သာရီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, ; Mon: or ; ms, Tanah Sari; formerly Tenasserim Division and subsequently Tanintharyi Division, th, ตะนาวศรี, RTGS: ''Tanao Si'', ...
. His family moved to
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
as duty when he was 5 years. His father, Khin Hlaing, was an artist. Min Aung Hlaing passed his matriculation exam in 1972 at
BEHS 1 Latha Basic Education High School No. 1 Latha ( my, အခြေခံ ပညာ အထက်တန်း ကျောင်း အမှတ် (၁) လသာ; formerly Central High School; commonly known as Latha 1 High School) is a public high scho ...
of Rangoon (now Yangon). He attended and studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
at the
Rangoon Arts and Science University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...
from 1973 to 1974. On his third attempt, he was admitted to the
Defence Services Academy The Defence Services Academy ( my, စစ်‌တက္ကသိုလ်, ) located in Pyin Oo Lwin, is the premier military service academy of Myanmar, training future officers for all three branches of Myanmar military. The Ministry of Defen ...
in 1974 as part of the 19th Intake, and he graduated in 1977. According to classmates, Min Aung Hlaing was taciturn, and an unremarkable cadet. He was reportedly shunned by classmates because of his reserved personality.


Career

Following graduation, Min Aung Hlaing went on to serve in different command positions, rising slowly through the ranks. Early in his career, military colleagues gave him a nickname referring to cat feces, "something deposited quietly but leaving a powerful stink." As he rose through the ranks, Min Aung Hlaing earned a reputation as a hardliner. His military work earned him the favour of Senior General
Than Shwe Than Shwe ( my, သန်းရွှေ, ; born 2 February 1933 or 3 May 1935) is a Burmese strongman politician who was the head of state of Myanmar from 1992 to 2011 as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). During this ...
. Min Aung Hlaing is characterized as having a "big man" management style not conducive to collaboration or listening. In 2002, he was promoted to commander of the in Eastern
Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...
and was a central figure in negotiations with two rebel groups, the
United Wa State Army The United Wa State Army (; my, ဝပြည် သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်ရေး တပ်မတော်, ), abbreviated as the UWSA or the UWS Army, is the military wing of the United Wa State Party (UWSP), the ''de facto' ...
(UWSA) and the
National Democratic Alliance Army The National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) is an insurgent group in eastern Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). It is the armed wing of the Peace and Solidarity Committee (PSC). History The Mong La area had been under the control of several war ...
(NDAA). Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly close with former Thai prime minister and General
Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda ( th, เปรม ติณสูลานนท์, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 3 March 1980 to 4 August 1988, ...
, considering Prem a father figure. Min Aung Hlaing supported the military crackdown of the
Saffron Revolution The Saffron Revolution ( my, ရွှေဝါရောင်တော်လှန်ရေး) was a series of economic and political protests and demonstrations that took place during August, September, and October 2007 in Myanmar. The pro ...
in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2009 after leading an offensive against the insurgent
Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army , logo = Flag of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.svg , caption = Flag of the MNDAA , active= – present , leader = Peng Daxun , ideology = Kokang nationalism Separatism , partof = Myanmar National Truth and Justice Party ...
in
Kokang Kokang ( my, ကိုးကန့်; ) is a region in Myanmar (Burma). It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and sharing a border with China's Yunnan Province to the east. Its total land area i ...
.David Paquette
"Min Aung Hlaing Appointed Vice-Senior General"
, ''The Irrawaddy'', 3 April 2012.
In June 2010, Min Aung Hlaing replaced General
Shwe Mann '' Thura'' Shwe Mann ( my, သူရ ရွှေမန်း, ; born 11 July 1947) is a Burmese politician who was Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw, the lower house of parliament from 31 January 2011 to 29 January 2016.Freeman, A. & Roads, J"Myanm ...
as Joint Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.


Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces


2011–2015: Union Solidarity and Development Party rule

In the lead-up to 2011, the military began embarking on a series of political reforms to transition Myanmar to a quasi-democracy. The ruling junta, the
State Peace and Development Council The State Peace and Development Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော် အေးချမ်းသာယာရေး နှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေး ကောင်စီ ; abbreviated SPDC or , ) was the offi ...
, engineered its formal departure from power, after holding the
2010 Myanmar general election General elections were held in Myanmar on 2010, in accordance with the new constitution, which was approved in a referendum held in . The election date was announced by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on . The elections were th ...
, which was won by the
Union Solidarity and Development Party The Union Solidarity and Development Party ( my, ပြည်ထောင်စုကြံ့ခိုင်ရေးနှင့် ဖွံ့ဖြိုးရေးပါတီ; abbr. USDP) is a political party in Myanmar, registered on ...
(USDP), the military's proxy party. On 30 March 2011, outgoing head of state, Senior General
Than Shwe Than Shwe ( my, သန်းရွှေ, ; born 2 February 1933 or 3 May 1935) is a Burmese strongman politician who was the head of state of Myanmar from 1992 to 2011 as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). During this ...
, then the incumbent Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's Armed Forces, appointed Min Aung Hlaing as his successor, ahead of more senior officers. Min Aung Hlaing's appointment coincided with USDP's rise to power, during which he oversaw a series of military reforms, and supported efforts by the USDP-led government to strike peace deals with ethnic armed groups. In November 2011, according to '' The Irrawaddy News'', it was "widely believed" that following Min Aung Hlaing's meetings with Chinese military officials that month and his leadership in creating a bilateral agreement on defense cooperation with the Chinese, he had also held talks with Chinese vice-president
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
regarding cooperation from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
with respect to the
Kachin Conflict The Kachin conflict or the Kachin War is one of the multiple conflicts which are collectively referred to as the internal conflict in Myanmar. Kachin insurgents have been fighting against the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) since 1961, with o ...
. On 27 March 2012, during a speech in
Naypyidaw Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw (; ), is the capital and third-largest city of Myanmar. The city is located at the centre of the Naypyidaw Union Territory. It is unusual among Myanmar's cities, as it is an entirely planned city o ...
, Min Aung Hlaing defended the military's continued role in national politics. On 3 April 2012, the
Government of Myanmar Myanmar ( also known as Burma) operates ''de jure'' as a unitary assembly-independent republic under its 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing anti-coup protests. P ...
announced that Min Aung Hlaing had been promoted to vice-senior general, the second highest rank in Myanmar's Armed Forces. He was promoted to senior general in March 2013. In 2014, as Min Aung Hlaing approached the age of 60, which is the mandatory age of retirement for military officers, the Armed Forces' Department of Defence Council issued a directive, enabling Min Aung Hlaing to extend his mandatory retirement age to 65, in 2021. In August 2015, the USDP fractured, and President Thein Sein purged the faction led by Shwe Mann, a former general and Speaker of the
Pyithu Hluttaw The Pyithu Hluttaw ( my, ပြည်သူ့ လွှတ်တော်, ; House of Representatives) is the ''de jure'' lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 440 members, of whic ...
. Min Aung Hlaing oversaw a direct military intervention to oust Shwe Mann from power, indicating the military's desire to continue furthering its agenda through USDP. Shwe Mann had advocated for legislation and constitutional amendments that would have decreased the military's influence, against the interests of the military and USDP.


2016–2020: Transition to National League for Democracy rule

The
2015 Myanmar general election General elections were held in Myanmar on 8 November 2015, with the National League for Democracy winning a supermajority of seats in the combined national parliament. Voting occurred in all constituencies, excluding seats appointed by the mil ...
saw the
National League for Democracy The National League for Democracy ( my, အမျိုးသား ဒီမိုကရေစီ အဖွဲ့ချုပ်, ; Abbreviation, abbr. NLD; Burmese abbr. ဒီချုပ်) is a liberal democratic political party in Myanm ...
(NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, win in a landslide. With the transition from an USDP to NLD-led government, Min Aung Hlaing shifted his priorities to recovering state power for the military establishment. His intransigence and refusal to cooperate with the civilian-led government undermined progress toward Myanmar's peace process. As the NLD assumed power, Min Aung Hlaing began intensifying an ongoing military crackdown on the
Rohingya The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
, beginning in October 2016. At the
Union Peace Conference - 21st Century Panglong Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
in August 2020, he sharply warned the NLD against scapegoating the military for its role in the ongoing ethnic conflicts. Min Aung Hlaing also began to signal his interest in civilian politics. He began assuming a more statesman-like persona, and became increasingly assertive about the military's role. In the lead-up to the 2020 Myanmar general election, he worked with the USDP to position himself as the next President. Throughout 2019, Min Aung Hlaing made several public appearances dubbed a "charm offensive," at several religious sites and charity functions, raising speculation about his political ambitions. To cultivate his public persona, he began two Facebook pages that commanded a combined following of 4.1 million followers. In January 2020, Min Aung Hlaing met with Chinese leader
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...
in Nay Pyi Taw. Xi promoted the practical cooperation under the framework of the
One Belt One Road The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure economic development, development strategy adopted by the Government of China, Chinese ...
to achieve results at an early date and benefit Myanmar's people. In May 2020, Min Aung Hlaing reshuffled senior military ranks, promoting a new generation of officers loyal to Min Aung Hlaing, including Kyaw Swar Lin, who became the military's youngest lieutenant-general.


2020–present: Military coup

In February 2020, Min Aung Hlaing, his wife Kyu Kyu Hla and with his close astrologer Vasipake Sayadaw placed the "
Hti HTI may refer to: * Hti, the finial ornament placed on pagodas and temples in Myanmar * HTI+, a former technician certification from CompTIA * Great Barrier Reef Airport, on Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia * Haiti, a country in the Caribbe ...
" umbrella atop
Bagan Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wou ...
's most powerful ancient
Htilominlo Temple Htilominlo Temple ( my, ထီးလိုမင်းလိုဘုရား, ) is a Buddhist temple located in Bagan (formerly Pagan), in Burma/Myanmar, built during the reign of King Htilominlo (also known as Nandaungmya), 1211–1231. Th ...
. The meaning of the
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
name is "need the royal umbrella, need the King". He was following in the footsteps of some of Myanmar's most powerful political figures including his predecessor, Senior General
Than Shwe Than Shwe ( my, သန်းရွှေ, ; born 2 February 1933 or 3 May 1935) is a Burmese strongman politician who was the head of state of Myanmar from 1992 to 2011 as Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). During this ...
. Many people believed that the ceremony was a
yadaya Yadaya ( my, ယတြာ, ; from Sanskrit ; variously spelt yadayar and yedaya) refers to magical rituals done to delay, neutralize or prevent misfortune, widely practiced in Myanmar (Burma). These rituals, which originate from Brahmanism, are gu ...
and seeking divine blessings for his glory. In November 2020, Min Aung Hlaing made a series of public comments questioning the legitimacy of the upcoming 2020 election, in potential violation of the Civil Services Personnel Law. On 5 November, the
Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
declared that Min Aung Hlaing's rank is equivalent to
Vice President of Myanmar The vice-presidents of Myanmar (also known as Burma) are the second highest-ranking posts in the government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. The offices were established by the 2008 Myanmar constitution and rank directly below the pr ...
. After casting his ballot in the 2020 election, Min Aung Hlaing vowed to accept the election results. The 2020 election saw NLD win in a larger landslide than in 2015, forestalling Min Aung Hlaing's political ambitions. In response, the military began intensifying allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities, submitting formal complaints to the
Union Election Commission The Union Election Commission ( my, ပြည်ထောင်စု ရွေးကောက်ပွဲ ကော်မရှင်, abbreviated UEC) is the national level electoral commission of Myanmar (Burma), responsible for organising an ...
. On 27 January 2021, Min Aung Hlaing publicly remarked that he would not rule out a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
and abolition of the
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
, if allegations of voter fraud during last year's election were not adequately addressed. These comments sparked concern about another potential coup in the country. The following day, the Union Election Commission issued a statement rejecting claims of electoral fraud, citing the lack of evidence submitted to substantiate these claims. On 29 January, the military issued clarifying statements pledging to protect and abide by the constitution and applicable laws. On 1 February 2021, Min Aung Hlaing detained elected leaders including President U Win Myint, State Councillor
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
and declared himself as commander in chief of Myanmar, one day before democratically-elected members of parliament were scheduled to be sworn in as members of the
Assembly of the Union The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw ( my, ပြည်ထောင်စု လွှတ်တော် lit. Assembly of the Union) is the ''de jure'' national-level bicameral legislature of Myanmar (officially known as the ''Republic of the Union of My ...
. The following day, he established the
State Administration Council The State Administration Council ( my, နိုင်ငံတော်စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်ရေးကောင်စီ; abbreviated SAC or နစက) is the military junta currently governing Myanmar, established by Comm ...
as the country's interim ruling body. On 22 May 2021, Min Aung Hlaing gave his first interview since the coup to Hong Kong-based Chinese language
Phoenix Television Phoenix Television is a majority state-owned television network that offers Mandarin and Cantonese-language channels that serve mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and other markets with substantial Chinese-language viewers. It is operated by ...
. During the interview, he referred to deposed leader
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from ...
and he said that she "is in good health. She is at her home and healthy. She is going to face trial at the court in a few days." On the same day, ''
Myanmar Now Myanmar Now is a news agency based in Myanmar (Burma). Myanmar Now journalists publish bilingual Burmese and English articles on an eponymous online news portal. The agency provides free syndication throughout the country, with a distribution net ...
'' reported that shortly after the coup, Min Aung Hlaing appointed himself indefinitely as the commander-in-chief and therefore the ''de facto'' leader of Myanmar. Six months after the coup, on 1 August 2021, Min Aung Hlaing formed a caretaker government and established himself as the country's
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. He also remains the Chairman of the SAC. After four pro-democracy activists were executed on 24 July 2022, the chairman of the
ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
,
Hun Sen Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and ...
, UN representatives, and Western leaders condemned the executions. On 7 September 2022, Min Aung Hlaing met with Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
on the sidelines of an economic meeting in eastern Russia, the first time that the pair have met since last February’s coup d’etat.


Rohingya genocide

The
UNHRC The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
reported that Min Aung Hlaing's soldiers have been deliberately targeting civilians in Northern states of Myanmar and have been committing systemic discrimination and human rights violations against minority communities in
Rakhine State Rakhine State (; , , ; formerly known as Arakan State) is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady R ...
. In particular, he has been accused of
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
against the
Rohingya people The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
. These human rights violations could amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In 2018, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, led by
Marzuki Darusman Marzuki Darusman (born 26 January 1945) is an Indonesian lawyer and human rights campaigner. After fifteen years as a member of the People's Representative Council with President Suharto's Golkar party, he served the country's prosecutor gene ...
, determined that Min Aung Hlaing and other Myanmar military generals oversaw atrocities against the
Rohingya The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...
in Rakhine, Kachin and
Shan state Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...
s, and did so with
genocidal intent Genocidal intent is the ''mens rea'' for the crime of genocide. "Intent to destroy" is one of the elements of the crime of genocide according to the 1948 Genocide Convention. There are some analytic differences between the concept of intent under n ...
. The UN investigative panel said that Min Aung Hlaing, along with four other commanders ( Soe Win, Aung Kyaw Zaw, Maung Maung Soe, and Than Oo) should be tried for war crimes and
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
(including genocide) in the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
or an ad hoc international tribunal. Facebook banned Min Aung Hlaing from its platform along with 19 other top Burmese officials and organisations to prevent further heated ethnic and religious tensions in Myanmar. This action followed a UN investigation's report that certain military leaders in Myanmar be investigated and prosecuted for genocide over a crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. Twitter later banned him on 16 May 2019. On 17 March 2019, Kyaw Zaw Oo, an Arakanese MP, published a bilingual open letter to Min Aung Hlaing about the many human rights violations of the
Tatmadaw Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
in Rakhine State that harmed the lives and property of civilians and damaged buildings of cultural heritage. The United States has imposed sanctions against Min Aung Hlaing. In July 2019, the U.S. government banned him from travel to the United States. In December 2020, it froze Min Aung Hlaing's American-based assets and criminalized financial transactions between him and anyone in the United States.


Corruption

Min Aung Hlaing has courted enduring controversy for his family's extensive business assets and potential
conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
. He is a major shareholder in the army-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL). During the 2010–11 fiscal year, he had owned 5,000 shares and received an annual dividend of $250,000. He sits on MEHL's Patron Group, which runs the conglomerate. Min Aung Hlaing's son, Aung Pyae Sone, owns a number of companies, including Sky One Construction Company and Aung Myint Mo Min Insurance Company. He also has a majority stake in
Mytel Mytel is a major telecommunications company in Myanmar (Burma), as one of four national carriers. Mytel is operated as a joint venture between the Burmese military and Viettel, which is owned by Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence. Mytel has be ...
, a national telecoms carrier. In 2013, his son Aung Pyae Sone won a no-bid government permit well below market rates, for a 30-year lease on land at the Yangon People's Park for a high-end restaurant and art gallery, following his father's promotion to Commander-in-Chief. Aung Pyae Sone also runs ''A&M Mahar'', which offers
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA) approvals and customs clearance services for drugs and medical devices. Myanmar's customs department is led by Kyaw Htin, a former MEHL director. His daughter Khin Thiri Thet Mon founded a major film studio,
7th Sense Creation 7th Sense Creation ( my, သတ္တမမြောက်အာရုံ) is a major film production and media company in Myanmar. 7th Sense was cofounded by Khin Thiri Thet Mon, the daughter of Myanmar's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, San K ...
, in 2017. That same year, his daughter-in-law, Myo Yadanar Htaik, founded another entertainment company, Stellar Seven Entertainment. The American Embassy, Yangon came under media scrutiny in December 2020, for collaborating with 7th Sense Creation, because Min Aung Hlaing is technically subject to US economic sanctions.


Sanctions

The
U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
has imposed sanctions on Min Aung Hlaing since 10 December 2019, pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...
and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption. He has committed serious human rights abuse against members of ethnic minority groups across Burma. This US sanctions include a freezing of assets under the US and a ban on transactions with any US person. About one year later, 11 February 2021 -- following the 1 February 2021 coup led by Hlaing -- he was also placed on the sanctions list of the
OFAC The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy o ...
pursuant to Executive Order 14014, in response to the Burmese military's coup against the democratically elected
civilian government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for exampl ...
of Burma. Shortly thereafter, 25 March 2021, OFAC also sanctioned some of the companies that Hlaing and/or his associates owned or controlled, including the MEC conglomerate headed by Hlaing.press release: "Treasury Sanctions Military Holding Companies in Burma,"
25 March 2021, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),
U.S. Treasury Department The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
, retrieved 28 December 2021
The
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
has imposed sanctions on him since 18 February 2021, pursuant to Special Economic Measures Act and Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations, in response to the gravity of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Canadian sanctions include a freezing of assets under Canada and a ban on transactions with any Canadian person.
HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
and the
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign ...
of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
have imposed sanctions on him since 25 February 2021, for his responsibility for serious human rights violations in Burma. The UK sanctions include a freezing of assets under the UK and a ban on entry or transit to the UK. Furthermore, the
Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...
has imposed sanctions on him since 22 March 2021, pursuant to Council Regulation (EU) 2021/479 and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/480 which amended Council Regulation (EU) No 401/2013, for his responsibility for the military coup and the subsequent military and police repression against peaceful demonstrators. The EU sanctions include a freezing of assets under member countries of the EU and a ban on entry or transit to the countries.


Personal life

Min Aung Hlaing is married to Kyu Kyu Hla, a retired lecturer, in 1980. He has three children, including son
Aung Pyae Sone Aung Pyae Sone is a Burmese business tycoon who owns a number of major companies, including Sky One Construction Company and Aung Myint Mo Min Insurance Company. He is also reportedly the biggest shareholder in national telecoms carrier Mytel. ...
and daughter
Khin Thiri Thet Mon Khin Thiri Thet Mon ( my, ခင်သီရိသက်မွန် ; born 5 December 1981), also known as Ma Thiri ( my, မသီရိ), is a Burmese businesswoman and daughter of Burmese army general Min Aung Hlaing, the current prime minis ...
.


Promotions

* Major General – 2008/2009 * Lieutenant General – Late 2009 * General – Early 2011 * Vice-Senior General – Early 2012 * Senior General – March 2013


Awards and decorations

* The Most Gallant Order of Military Service, Gallant Commander of the Malaysian Armed Forces (Darjah Panglima Gagah Angkatan Tentera), Honorary Malaysian Armed Forces Order for Valor (1st Degree), Malaysia. * Medal "For strengthening the military commonwealth" (Ministry of Defense, Russia) * Badge of Honor of FSMTC "For the Merits in the Field of Military-Technical Cooperation" * The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant, Knight Grand Cross (1st Class), Thailand * The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand, Knight Grand Cross (1st Class), Thailand


Religious honors

On 7 October 2019, the
Young Men's Buddhist Association The YMBA, or Young Men's Buddhist Association, was created in Sri Lanka in 1898. The main founder was C. S. DissanayakeHuman Rights Watch (2009)''The Resistance of the Monks: Buddhism and Activism in Burma'' p. 12. as part of a bid to provide Budd ...
(YMBA) awarded him the title of ''Mingaladhamma Zawtika Dhaza'' and the permanent patron of YMBA. On 9 December 2020, YMBA awarded him the title of ''Thado Thiri Agga Maha Mingalar Zawtika''.


References


External link

, - {{Authority control 1956 births Living people Burmese generals Burmese military personnel Burmese Theravada Buddhists Defence Services Academy alumni Far-right politics in Myanmar Genocide perpetrators People from Tanintharyi Region Leaders who took power by coup People sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act Burmese nationalists Members of the State Administration Council Prime Ministers of Myanmar 21st-century Burmese politicians Burmese rebels Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List